STAR TREK 2009 2: Return to the Starminders
by Dan Bivens
Summary: It is time for those of the U.S.S. ENTERPRISE to take their R-and-R, and they have elected to visit the Dyson Sphere society recently added to the United Federation of Planets. How will it go, and will anything go wrong?
1. Chapter 1

_"Captain's log: Stardate 2259.01. James Tiberious Kirk reporting. After several more months of important patrols and peace-keeping activities, throughout the vastness of the United Federation of Planets space, the crew of the U.S.S. ENTERPRISE have earned a long-deserved R-and-R to any place or planet within Federation space. _

_"We chose one that was still the newest addition, which was also the only place using a Dyson Sphere to make the most out of a post-expulsion-of-gases star. One which was home to the fifteen or twenty billion souls that had claimed this portion of space for far longer than the UFP had been in existence. _

_"I know that I, personally, was looking forward to meeting up with a beautiful bureaucrat named Zoon Rahnn. _

_"I could only hope that she had not forgotten me, and would be able to make time for me once we come alongside the star-shell in order to beam over._

_"It wouldn't be more than a day at our present speed of Warp Factor Four before that beamover would take place."_

"ETA: Eleven hours, Captain," called out Lt. Hikaru Sulu from his position at the helm.

"Thank you, Mr. Sulu," readily responded Captain James T. Kirk from his command chair set in the center of the bright-white bridge that was still brand-new, even after so many months of continuous service. "Mr. Spock...?"

Without having to actually ask, Commander Spock replied from his Science station to Captain Kirk's right, on the upper tier half-encircling the bridge.

"Sensors still sweeping our forward spacial area. Nothing out of the ordinary or dangerous to report."

"Keep it sweeping at a distance of one light-year, Mr. Spock," said Captain Kirk, without even half-turning toward the Vulcan first officer. "I don't want any surprises before our R-and-R."

"Affirmative, Captain," responded Spock, as his slanted-brow eyes continued to watch his sensor screens, as his hands nimbly made contact with his board's buttons in order to continuously adjust the forward-sweeping sensor beams.

"What's the matter, Bones?" asked, with a smile, Captain James Tiberious Kirk of his best friend and chief medical officer, standing a short distance from the command chair, occupied by the youngest starship commander in Starfleet history. "You look like you're about to confront your ex-wife out here."

"Very funny," smirked a slightly grumbling Dr. Leonard McCoy, glancing toward his friend and commander. "You're not the only one who's anxious to get to that star-sphere. I've had more than my share of minor emergencies down in medical bay. Enough to last me a life-time. Or at least the time we have left before reaching our star-shell destination."

"It is called a Dyson Sphere, gentlemen," Spock suddenly said without having been asked or spoken to directly. "Named after Freeman Dyson who first proposed the quite logically deduced notion back in 1960, in a paper entitled 'Search for Artificial Stellar Sources of Infra-Red Radiation'. Published in the journal 'Science' in order to..."

"All right, Spock," rapidly interjected Dr. McCoy, effectively cutting short what promised to be a rather lengthy explanation that threatened to such all the re-circulated oxygen out of the rounded area. "Jesus, let's hope you're not so goddamned talkative when we finally beam over to this Dyson Sphere place. I just don't think I could take it."

Kirk couldn't help but snicker beneath his breath over how his two friends, and fellow officers, continually berated one another like a couple of kids, rather than two decorated officers on board Starfleets flagship, known throughout Federation space as the U.S.S. ENTERPRISE.

But, as was the case in each and every other moment such had taken place, Captain Kirk kept himself out of it. Merely enjoying, silently, the back-and-forth that occured so frequently amongst Spock and McCoy. He was sure that the rest of the bridge crew enjoyed it, too.

"Lt. Uhura," he finally called out, whilst halting any humorous argument that might take place between Commander Spock and Dr. Leonard McCoy, "maintain forward sub-space radio contact with the, uh, Dyson Sphere. Kept them apprised of our current position, and our ETA from their immediate spacial position."

"Aye, Captain," replied Lt. Nyota Uhura, as she felt not only friendship with Spock and McCoy, but an additional love for Mr. Spock which had already been noticed by not only Captain Kirk, but virtually every other bridge officer currently manning stations situated in every direction from the centrally located Captain James T. Kirk.

As for Spock, even though he had demonstrated emotionality whenever he and Uhura were together, most especially somewhere other than the bridge, and also especially while both were off-duty, he maintained immediate focus upon his station and his constantly sweeping, forward, sensors. Sensors reaching out to one light year's distance.

At last, with the potential give-and-take settled amongst Spock and McCoy, for the moment at least, almost every eye was trained upon what could be seen through the exceedingly wide and thick viewscreen window through which the smeared starlight, streaking past the ENTERPRISE like flashes of brilliance quickly come-and-gone past the starship, could be so easily seen. Each flash bringing the crew of the U.S.S. ENTERPRISE that much closer to their intended destination for R-and-R built about a brown dwarf star, whose most stellar existence was now long behind its formerly radiant prior existence.

As stellar objects went.


	2. Chapter 2

Captain James T. Kirk sat in his center seat for what seemed to be half an eternity, before rising to his booted feet, in order to reliquish, temporarily, the spotlessly white bridge to another.

To the first officer, to be exact.

"Commander Spock," said Captain Kirk before making a move away from the command chair, "you have the Conn. I think I'll take some time to eat and rest, before final approach to our star-shell destination."

"Affirmative, Captain," was the stoic and smooth response from Commander Spock, who surrenders his Science station to a lesser-ranked person, whilst stepping down into the center of the circular bridge. Thereupon to take a stiff-backed seat in that self-same command chair.

As for Dr. Leonard McCoy, since his best friend and commanding officer had taken a turbo-lift down to the galley, wherein he would grab some food and a beverage, he also left the bridge area by turbo-lift.

But Dr. McCoy would be taking it down to medical bay. Once inside, he would double-check all the bio-beds, and their subsequent readouts, as well as check in with the medics and nurses stationed therein.

Then he would enter his small-but-efficient office, contained within the medical bay itself, where he would drink extra strong coffee, while going over the sometimes endless collection of report pads displaying an always wide variety of briefs from an equally wide variety of medical personell treating everything from broken bones to scraped knees and elbows.

All of which were part and parcel of a starship's medical bay.

Herein would Dr. Leonard McCoy kill time until he was certain that Captain James Tiberius Kirk was, once more, back in the center seat several decks up.

Meantime, in the private seclusion of his captain's quarters...

Captain Kirk was sitting at a permanently affixed to bulkhead and deck table, eating a simple chicken and veggies dinner. Along with a non-alcoholic beverage, as the last thing this starship commander wanted was to experience a senses-dulling few hours in his quarters, before being informed that the ENTERPRISE was on its final leg toward the only constantly active and permanently populated Dyson Sphere within Federation space.

In fact, Captain James T. Kirk seriously doubted that he would await such intercom-delivered information in said captain's quarters. His desire to be in that center seat would doubtlessly drive him to reliquish his steadily bolted down table, inserting the dirty dish and glass into a slot that would break them down to their primary molecular components, whilst also obliterating whatever remained of his food and drink, so as to present him with a clean from the atomic level up the next time he decided to stop everything for a sumptious meal.

At the moment, said sumptious meal, though quite quaint and uncomplicated, was still before him and smelled just as inviting as it had done upon retrieving it from the galley just before retiring to his captain's quarters.

So, for the nonce, Captain Kirk would feed and drink.

At that same moment, a few decks above, loosely speaking, Captain James Tiberius Kirk's head...

Mr. Spock was silently sitting in said center seat. His logically-trained mind taking in a multitude of information from the various manned stations situated about the circle that was the bridge on Deck One.

Some of that information was being deliberately delivered, verbally, by the officers assigned to said stations. Such as, for example, Lt. Nyota Uhuru, Spock's true love, though the logical-minded commander calculated in an equation meant to mediate such seemingly illogical, and therefore emotional, "feelings" for a former student-cum-bridge officer. From her would come, by request, data intrically connected to an active Communications station.

From such as Lt. Hikaru Sulu's helm, such information could just as easily be gleaned from visually inspecting same from what could be seen around Sulu's lean Self.

Of course, to be absolutely certain, for which his logic demanded, Spock would elicit said data vocally from the young helmsman.

Then he would weigh all such ready erudication from a multitude of human and non-human sources, before delivering even the most mundane of orders to those same sources situated all about the circular bridge area.

Apart from that, Commander Spock quietly considered, using only one small-but-not simplistic part of an incredibly complex mind, just how much he would enjoy his time off the ship and within the scientifically enticing surfaces of a constantly rotating, around a nearly dead brown dwarf sun, larger-than-the-area of a planet star-shell called, by humans at least, a Dyson Sphere.

Oh, how intriguing such would be for a half-Vulcan science officer. On the other hand, from the standpoint of his half-human Self, Spock couldn't wait to enjoy the wooded park areas situated around town-centers and cityscapes, dotting the interior of the steadily-rotating star-shell, with a certain Lt. Uhuru.

One countered the other, in a uniquely Vulcan equation-creating brain belonging to Mr. Spock, perfectly.

In his own way, Spock was just as anxious to engage in some R-and-R, within said Dyson Sphere, as were all the other senior officers, including Ensign Pavel Chekov seated at his Tactical station, not far from Lt. Sulu at his Helm station.

Including the currently not-on-Deck One Captain James T. Kirk.


	3. Chapter 3

_"Captain's log: Stardate 2259.02. James T. Kirk reporting. Having just received word via intercom, from Commander Spock up on Deck One, I finished my food, inserted dirty dish and glass for the ultimate in recycling procedure, then left my quarters behind in order to take a turbo-lift to the bridge._

_"Once there, Spock and I traded bridge positions, me for the command chair, and Spock for the Science station, and I settled in for the last leg of our R-and-R journey._

_"It would only be a few more minutes, before beaming over to the interior of a Dyson Sphere. A star-shell surrounding, completely, a brown dwarf star, whereupon up to twenty billion people lived and worked._

_"And where I would find one of the sexiest civil servants in the totality of the Federation."_

"What's our ETA, Mr. Sulu?" asked Captain James Tiberius Kirk, from the center seat, of Lt. Hikaru Sulu, at the Helm station.

"Five to six minutes, Captain," was Sulu's not-so-stiff response, largely due to the fact that he, too, was looking forward to spending some down-time within this star-shell.

"Thank you, Mr. Sulu," Captain James T. Kirk commented coolly, before turning to his right, with his command chair swivelling smoothly in said direction, before elliciting reports from both Lt. Nyota Uhura, at Communications, and Commander Spock, at Science. "Lt. Uhura? Mr. Spock?"

With perfect timing, the two addressed bridge officers replied one before the other.

"Captain, I have established subspace contact with Kaa Raal, in general, and Zoon Rhann, in particular."

"Sensors show that all the exterior weaponry has been deactivated due to our Impulse powered approach."

"On screen, Lieutenant," ordered Captain Kirk of Uhura, while not verbally acknowledging the report delivered so dutifully by First Officer/Science officer Spock, even though he did, indeed, heed it.

"Transferring, Captain," the beauteously ebony Communications officer, as her manicured digits danced over the control panel spread out, in a semi-circular fashion, before her in order to obeying the order.

In less time than it probably seemed to Captain Kirk, the massive viewscreen window, looking out upon the distant stars, and Dyson Sphere to which they were approaching so steadily, now that the ENTERPRISE was traveling in normal space via Impulse, a see-through image was superimposed over what was so easily seen through said viewscreen window.

An image of a beautiful bureaucrat, whose slightly alien differences did nothing to diminish said beauty, was speaking to a certain handsome, and charming, human named Captain James Tiberius Kirk.

"Greetings, Captain," she said over the unseen speakers in a perfectly clear and stereoscopic fashion. "We are happy you and your crew have opted to spend a couple of days within our stellar sphere. I am sure you will find it as intellectually exciting as you will relaxing."

"Thank you, Zoon Rhann," Captain Kirk quickly replied with a seductive smile, "I'm sure we shall. Exact coordinates for geosynchronous orbit along the outer hull of your star-shell have been entered into Helm, and our exact physical landing via transporters, one group at a time, have all been laid in and transmitted to your official assemblage, for your own records."

"We await your presence amongst us, starting with the official headquarters of our beaurocracy," said Zoon Rhann, as her attraction to the comely captain of the U.S.S. ENTERPRISE grew almost visibly. "Then, via official escort, the rest of our townships and cities, not to mention the pulchritudinous natural resourses that had been transplanted from our old worlds to the interior of this sphere encircling our almost-dead sun. Zoon Rhann, of Kaa Raal, signing off."

No sooner said that the see-through image disappeared from the massively wide and thick viewscreen window as quickly as it had presented itself. This time due to the cessation of a visual-and-audio signal from inside the Dyson Sphere civilization, and not cut off from Lt. Uhura's end.

"The senior staff of officers," Captain James Tiberius Kirk called, even as he slowly stood before his center seat, "shall accompany me to the main transporter room. From there, once the ship is in proper orbit outside the sphere, we shall beam over to begin R-and-R. Secondary officers shall report to the transporter room for beamover after reliquishing their respective stations to a skeleton crew trained to maintain said orbit and keep sensor watch on surrounding space. Understood?"

Without having to be told, Lt. Sulu, Ensign Chekov, Lt. Uhura, Commander Spock, Dr. McCoy, and a handful of others, considered senior staff on said bridge, followed their commanding officer into one of several turbo-lifts in order to step onto a transporter pad, six at a time, whereby their atoms would be teleported from orbiting starship to Dyson Sphere civilization situated on the kilometers thick shell surrounding said brown dwarf star.

In a matter of minutes, the main compliment of officers, from ensign to lieutenant-commander, such as Lt.-Cmdr. Montgomery Scott from engineering and main transporter room during important beamovers, would find themselves amongst the aliens populating the interior of the only honest-to-God Dyson Sphere within the borders of Federation space.

Then R-and-R could finally begin.


	4. Chapter 4

_"Captain's personal log: Stardate 2259.02. James T. Kirk reporting. Even though my emotive reason for being so anxious to beam over into the Dyson Sphere, so far out in Federation space, has to do with the beautiful beaurucratic head of Kaa Raal, I am painfully aware of the fact that Zoon Rhann has a 'mate' named Ragah Zee. A 'mate' who is also co-head of Kaa Raal._

_"According to a study of 'marital laws' in existence to the Kaa Raalian society, especially as such applies to the two heads of government for the Dyson Sphere society, the 'mate' portion of said laws leaves such as a very 'loose' legality for both. _

_"Meaning Zoon Rhann and I could 'carry on' in a 'romantic' sense, and never violate the mating legality held between Zoon Rhann and Ragah Zee._

_"I could hardly wait until my atomic structure was disassembled via transporter beams, and reassembled within the capitol building wherein I would find Zoon Rhann."_

"Energize."

As Captain James Tiberius Kirk's personal sense of vision looked straight out from his vantage point on the six-at-a-time transporter platform, such slowly faded from view...

...to be immediately replaced by a slow fade into existence of the interior of the capitol building in which the two top bureaucrats could be seen.

Having already activated their stowed-at-the-hip communicators, all six of those first beamed over from the orbiting, outside the Dyson Sphere shell, U.S.S. ENTERPRISE would be able to establish two-way communication with any and all Kaa Raalians encountered during their R-and-R.

The first six being: Captain Kirk, whose sole goal was to get to "know Zoon Rhaan better"; Commander Spock, who brought along his tricorder for a certain amount of scientific studies of this star-shell society; Lt. Nyota Uhura, who had purely romantic notions in connection with the Vulcan science officer; Lt. Hikaru Sulu, who had a certain curiosity about any modes of air travel inside the Dyson Sphere itself, and possibly personally piloting one of them; Ensign Pavel Chekov, who just really needed some lazy R-and-R, possibly within the highly-touted wooded parks supposedly covering at least fifty percent of the interior of this star-shell; and, finally, Dr. Leonard McCoy, who also looked forward to simply relaxing anywhere within the citys, towns, and, yes, park areas, possibly far removed from any other member of a certain starship assuming geosynchronous orbit about the exterior of the Dyson Sphere itself, but who also brought along his white medical tricorder, just in case curiosity overcame the need for rest.

"Greetings from Kaa Raal, gentlebeings," said, in an official fashion, the head of bureaucratic government, Zoon Rhaan, as her mate and co-head, Ragah Zee, said pretty much the same.

"Yes, greetings."

"Greetings to you both, Zoon Rhaan and Ragah Zee," was Captain James T. Kirk's reply, as he half-bowed in what could be considered a universal meaning of respect, even on such a distant and alien culture as existed on Kaa Raal. "Let me state, for all that will be coming ashore, as it were, that we are truly honored and personally excited to be allowed even a single day, or, perhaps, two in your unique-to-the Federation world."

"That goes double for me," chimed in Dr. McCoy, since Away team protocol was lax whenever said Away team, or teams, as it turned out, were there for R-and-R.

"Well, then," said Zoon Rhaan, with a ghost of a sensual smile on her beautiful, though slightly alien, face, "Ragah Zee shall escort the bulk of this first six individuals out into the 'open air' that makes up so much of our star-shell existence. As for you, Captain James Kirk...I intend to take you on a 'personal tour', as it were."

"Of course," grumbled McCoy in a tone, and facial expression, that spoke volumns in regards to how Kirk seemed to sexually attract any woman, human or non-human, wherever he happened to be.

Then five of the six, in this first beamover bunch, followed Ragah Zee straightaway out of the beaurucratic center-of-government in regards to the Kaa Raalian civilization.

Leaving Captain Kirk with Zoon Rhaan.

"I'm feeling relaxed already," quipped a half-smiling captain of the U.S.S. ENTERPRISE. Only to be answered by a sexually enticing Number One of Kaa Raalian government.

"Let's hope such 'relaxation' only deepens, James."


	5. Chapter 5

Captain James T. Kirk and Zoon Rhann were walking through the capitol city of Kaa Raal. Walking and talking as would a couple out on a date.

Regardless of the fact that, technically speaking, Zoon Rhann was mated to Ragah Zee.

"Your city is the second prettiest sight I've ever seen, Zoon."

"Second prettiest, James?"

"You're by far the first in that category."

Zoon blushed ever so slightly at the simplistic statement made by a charmingly smiling Captain Kirk.

"And might I say, James, that you are by far the most handsome sight I have ever seen."

Now it was time for James Tiberius Kirk to blush ever so slightly. In fact, more slightly, and therefore harder to see, than Zoon Rhann.

"Is there a cafe or restaurant somewhere within your beautiful city that two 'pretty' people can go for drinks and a little food to help cement the closeness we're now feeling for one another, Zoon?" asked Kirk, his tone and expression still that of a charmer closing in on his lovely prey.

"Why, yes, James, there is," said Zoon with a full-on smile that displayed her beautiful white teeth and caused her already lovely features to come across as much more so than immediately before. "It's called 'Eternal Starshine', and its located a short walk from where we happen to be walking. I think you'll love the cusine. And their cocktails are out of this sphere."

"Then by all means," responded Captain Kirk quaintly, "let's go to the 'Eternal Starshine' restaurant and eat. And, of course, drink. Although, no matter how deliciously delightful the food happens to be, they cannot help but be overshadows by your own delightfulness."

"You say the sweetest things, James."

Now walking arm-in-arm, the two walked across a broad walkway, since Kaa Raal had no wheeled vehicles, but only those that fly, in order to end up in "Eternal Sunshine", where two sexually attracted-to-one another individuals could thoroughly enjoy the equally sensual food and drink available to all in this Dyson Sphere society.

Meanwhile, just entering one of the many tree-dominated parks used for recreational activities...

Commander Spock and Lt. Nyota Uhura were walking side-by-side in a fashion easily seen as exhibiting the togetherness of two individuals in love.

The only thing that countered that visibly loving sight was the fact that Spock had his smallish tricorder in hand in order to take constant readings of the world immediately around them.

Readings on the trees and brush, not to mention the very grass upon which the two walking side-by-side couple lightly tread.

Readings that also stretched out to the exterior surface of the star-shell in which an immense society so thoroughly thrived.

"It's really beautiful here, isn't it?" asked, almost absently, Uhura as she breathed the crisp, clean air and marveled at a well groomed, no doubt by mechanical servants, grounds which the two had entered approximately seventeen minutes earlier. "Don't you think so, Spock?"

"'Beautiful' is a supposition spoken by an emotionally active individual, Nyota," said the always-stoic Mr. Spock, as he continued to look at the myriad readouts on the small screen of the slender lid-like extension of the tricorder held so casually in one hand. "I find it intriguing that this alien topiary is within eight or nine percent of being exactly like that found on Earth. Like the inhabitants of this hollow sphere themselves, the differences between Earth and Kaa Raal are very low. Fascinating."

Sighing heavily, and loud enough to be easily heard by Spock's pointed, and very sensitive to sound, ears, Lt. Uhura replied pointedly, "Spock, this visit is for R-and-R purposes, not a scientific jaunt through trees, brush, and grass this Dyson Sphere society has cultivated so successfully within an artificial star-shell. Think you could put away your tricorder long enough to enjoy it with me?"

Uhura's tone and expression were such that Mr. Spock tore himself away from his tricorder readings long enough to stare into those sensually dark eyes of one to whom his human half would forever love. As illogical as such a statement would sound to his Vulcan half.

"Very well, Nyota," said Spock as he made the conscious decision to close the slender lid of his equally slender and smallish tricorder, then slipped it into the belt-reserved slot on the backside, barely, of said belt which also carried his activated-for-translation communicator, as well as the empty holster that would normally hold a phaser pistol. "I think I can reallocate some time to 'enjoy' our surroundings for a time, without taking constant tricorder readings."

"That's as much as any girl could ask," said Lt. Uhura, as she slipped an arm in and around one of Commander Spock's. Then the two of them continued to walk further into one of hundreds of arboreal parks spread through the building dominated cities and townships.

Which could be seen gradually vanishing into the cloud-dominated distance, as they curved up and away from Spock's and Uhura's position, enough to remind one that they were walking inside a massively hollow sphere, and not on the surface of some planet.

Such would be the sight and sensation shared by all who beamed over from the orbiting U.S.S. ENTERPRISE. Flagship of Starfleet Command.


	6. Chapter 6

"Are you sure 'bout this, lad," Lt.-Cmdr. Montgomery Scott asked of Lt. Hikaru Sulu, as both sat in an old 21st Century flying car that had nothing in common with the 23rd Century shuttles currently used on every other planet in the Federation.

It was a flying car that used the old principles of flight in as much as it was a winged creation with propeller "fans" situated on both fore and aft areas, thus providing both lift and, when a certain altitude had been achieved, directional soaring capabilities. Able to reach air speeds of up to three hundred kilometers-per-hour.

But, as this antiquated mode of air travel was much more dangerous than those of the 23rd Century wherein a graviton field was used to lift the block-like shuttles off the ground and permit them to shoot through the air with multi-Mach speeds, while its inertia dampeners allowed those on board to feel none of the rapid acceleration and directional changes the flying car would experience.

Finally, as the natural-born pilot within Lt. Sulu awakened behind the steering controls of said flying car, he said, "Not one hundred percent, Scotty, but enough to get us flying. Once we reach optimal altitude, within the wrapped-around-the brown dwarf star in the center of the Dyson Sphere shell, it should be much easier, and safer, to speed through the air. Trust me."

"It ain't you I be needin' to trust, lad," gulped Scotty just as the powerful propeller fans began to actually lift the flying car off the ground like one of the helicopters also around in the 21st Century. "It be this blasted old-fashioned flyin' machine."

With a chuckle drowned out by the roar of four very powerful propeller fans, a broadly grinning Sulu soon had the flying car several kilometers above the curving-upward landscape of both capitol city and wooded parks. Then, with the proper manipulation of the old-time controls, sent said flying car straight ahead at a gradually growing speed of three hundred-plus kilometers-per-hour.

One could almost hear Mr. Scott's screaming from far below, on the inner surface of the Dyson Sphere shell. Almost.

Dr. Leonard McCoy, accompanied by the far younger Nurse Christine Chapel, was walking through the semi-crowded sidewalks of the capitol city using his white, rounded-top medical tricorder to gather what he believed to be valuable, for future generations in the field of UFP medicine, stats in connection with a nearly-human alien race populating a star-shell surrounding a spent star.

Nurse Chapel was more concerned with the R-and-R aspect of walking on an alien land, albeit stretching all the way around, and a lot nearer to its star than any previous planet, the brown dwarf at its exact center. And she was quick to say so.

"Doctor, you've been running medical scans of the people of this Dyson Sphere ever since I beamed over, in the second set of six shore leave-seeking officers, and joined you in your walk. Can't you put that thing away and truly enjoy this unique 'world'?"

"You just stated, in one word, the very reason I shouldn't stop my medical scans, Nurse Chapel," was Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy's almost stoic response. His white medical tricorder still trilling as it picked up the various vital signs, some different and some damn near human, of the people they passed. "'Unique'."

With a very heavy sigh heaved from her trim and petite little Self, Chapel said, beneath her breath, "Maybe I need to take that tricorder and scan you for some sign of a soul within that hardened heart. You'd think something as visually fantastic as a land that slopes up and away, instead of down the horizon, would be more than enough to cause you to shake off your tunnel-vision focus on what makes these people physically tick. No wonder your wife divorced you."

Never actually hearing any of what she said, as his scans via his white, rounded-top medical tricorder continued, McCoy said, "What's that, Nurse?"

"Nothing, Doctor, nothing."

Meantime, manning the bridge in the absence of the senior officers now walking about the unseen inner surface of the star-shell about which the U.S.S. ENTERPRISE was currently orbiting geosynchronously...

Temporarily Acting Captain Harris Pengarius, all of twenty years of age, with a short-cut head of blonde hair to compliment his sky-blue eyes, was sitting in the command chair at the center of the circular bright-white, and still brand-new, bridge, staring out through the massively thick and wide viewscreen window, looking at the gradually curving down its exterior horizon before the rapidly orbiting, at some 20,000 kilometers-per-hour, starship.

All was boringly peaceful, until the officer temporarily manning Spock's Science station, Lt. Terrance Evans, excitedly spoke out to betray his own twenty-year-old youth and inexperience...

"We have a battle starship decloaking within striking range of the star-shell!"

Attempting to mediate, properly, the sudden stiff rise of fear and, yes, panic within not only Lt. Evans at the Science station, but within his own youth and inexperience, Temporarily Acting Captain Pengarius, swiveling the center seat toward said Science station, asked, "What configuration, Lieutenant? Is it something new, or do we have it stored in the computer's memory banks?"

There was an uneasy pause, as Lt. Terrance Evans fumbled with the input controls situated in a half-circle before him. Then, at last, came a response.

"It's Klingon, Captain Pengarius!"

No sooner said than the decloaked battlecruiser, so instantly familiar even to this skeleton crew of junior officers situated about all the important stations make up the semi-circular upper tier, as well as others to either side of the huge viewscreen window, through which the Klingon battlecruiser could be so easily seen.

Without swiveling toward the Communications station, further down from the Science station, a suddenly on-the-edge-of-his seat, literally and figuratively, Temporarily Acting Captain Harris Pengarius ordered, "Contact the Away teams, Lt. Tomlison. Inform them of the situation, then have the transporter rooms beam them back over."

"Aye, sir!" came the excited, and fearful, response from Lt. Yolanda Tomlison, all of eighteen, as well as being a quite beautiful redhead.

It was then, in the midst of a red alert status, complete with flashing red lights and the seemingly distant sound of a red alert klaxon blaring, that the on-the-edge-of-his seat Pengarius stated almost silently...

"So much for R-and-R."


	7. Chapter 7

Just as things were getting really romantic for them, whilst walking amidst the green park closest to the capitol building...

BEEP, BEEP...

A concerned scowl now dominated the previously smiling handsome face of Captain James Tiberius Kirk, as he apologetically said, "Excuse me for a moment, Zoon."

He was quick to pull his active-for-translation communicator from its molded holder positioned almost at his side. Quick because he knew no such communication from his ship would be taking place, unless something serious was taking place outside the star-shell.

"Kirk here. Report," was the tense-and-ready-for action Kirk into his flipped open communicator.

"Captain," came the excited with fear and terrible inexperience, when it came to very real danger, Temporarily Acting Captain Harris Pengarius, "sorry for interrupting your R-and-R..."

"Just get to it, Pengarius!" snappishly replied Captain Kirk via his open communicator.

"A Klingon battlecruiser has decloaked and is approaching the Dyson Sphere...and us."

It didn't take much more than a single second for Captain James T. Kirk to shift into command mode, as he sternly said, "Contact the others, Pengarius, and have them reconvene inside the capitol building, starting with the first six to beam over. This calls for cooler heads, in the bodies of the senior officers usually assigned to bridge stations, to be in place A-S-A-P. I'm heading there now. Kirk out."

As he replaced the important piece to be carried when on any Away situation, even a supposedly relaxing R-and-R, Kirk said to Zoon Rhann, to its molded holder on his belt, speaking via the still activated for translation purposes communicator...

"I'm sorry, Zoon, but there's an emergency situation presenting itself in space at this very instant. A situation that could spell a very real threat to Kaa Raal and its billions of citizens. I must beam back right away."

"I understand, James," was her suddenly serious response, even as the two began a light jog in the direction of the capitol building. "I shall order our exterior energy weapons to go online right away. Perhaps, together, we can turn the threat aside from this star-shell system."

Meanwhile, whilst flying high overhead in an actual flying car...

BEEP, BEEP...

"Sulu here," said Lt. Hikaru Sulu via his just flipped open communicator, while next to him, at that self-same moment...

"Scott here."

In stereo, Temporarily Acting Captain Harris Pengarius' voice was quick to repeat the report he had given to Captain Kirk, first and foremost, mere seconds before.

"On my way," came the spoken response, almost exactly at the self-same instant, from both Scotty and Sulu.

After replacing their communicators into the specially molded holders on their belts, Lt. Sulu said, "Now we'll see just how fast this thing can go to get us back to the capitol building."

"Guess that means I'd better tighten my seat belt, eh, lad?" was Lt.-Cmdr. Scott's rhetorical reply, even as he literally pulled hard on the over-the-shoulders seat belt in a subconscious desire to increase his safety in such an antiquated machine.

Turning the flight controls in his hands, the propeller fans repositioned themselves in just such a fashion so as to cause the flying car to gradually come about in order to return to where this interrupted R-and-R first began.

Now allowing both occupants to see the steadily turning upward, in a hazy with clouds distance, inner surface of the star-shell in the direction of the capitol building.

Meanwhile, on the ground itself, seconds later...

BEEP, BEEP...

"McCoy here," said Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy, even as, to his immediate right, Nurse Christine Chapel was saying as much in her own communicator.

After the self-same report was repeated for them, both acknowledged and replaced their communicators, even as McCoy deactivated his white, rounded-top medical tricorder.

Then both, wordlessly, turned to return, by foot, to the capitol building, in order to be locked onto and, a split second afterwards, beamed back over to the geosynchronously orbiting U.S.S. ENTERPRISE, a hundred or so kilometers distance from the exterior surface of this Dyson Sphere creation of the Kaa Raalians.

The same situation would repeat itself for the remainder of senior bridge officers, as well as the second six, and those that came after them, until all returned to the interior of the capitol building for beamovers.

As to the first six...

REEEEEE-RIIIIINNNGGGG...

...their atomic structures were brought back to solidity upon the main transporter room's pad, as said atoms swirled madly about the unoccupied pad in order to gradually materialize the first six officers to have beamed over from the ENTERPRISE to the star-shell's interior surface.

Captain Kirk was the first to bound off the pad, half-running in order to leave behind the main transporter room in order to reach, and retrieve, his command chair situated in the exact center of the bright-white bridge.

Following in his wake were Commander Spock, Lt. Sulu, Ensign Chekov and others, whilst Dr. McCoy detoured to the medical bay, along with, in the second six, Nurse Chapel, in order to make ready for any and all injured-from-space combat crewmembers once the ENTERPRISE engaged itself to repell the potential attack of a decloaked Klingon battlecruiser.

It would be a test of this young starship crew's mettle once Captain Kirk reclaimed his center seat and commenced his command.

So, too, would such be the case for the exterior star-shell's energy weapons, designed and deployed for this very purpose.


	8. Chapter 8

"Lt. Uhura," ordered a recently-returned Captain James T. Kirk, at the equally recently-returned officer manning Communications, "try to open a channel to the incoming Klingon vessel. Inform them that this is Federation space, and warn them away."

"Aye, Captain," was the lovely Lieutenant's reply, as she quickly manipulates the controls arranged in a semi-circle before her in order to carry out the handsome Captain's commands.

Meantime, Captain Kirk directed his next set of orders to Tactical and Helm, manned by Ensign Pavel Chekov and Lt. Hikaru Sulu.

"Be ready to employ attack-and-evade maneuvers, using Impulse. Have weapons ready to fire immediately upon command."

"Aye, aye, Captain."

"Aye, Keptin."

Half-swiveling toward the Science station, Captain Kirk questioned the half-human/half-Vulcan manning it, "Mr. Spock, make sure that's the only Klingon battlecruiser in the vicinity. Check for anomalous readings that would indicate still-cloaked cruisers."

"Scanning space, Captain," was Spock's reply as he already began doing so seconds before his Captain's order. "So far, there are no anomalous readings. Odds are 98-percent certain that this is the only battlecruiser in this sector of Federation space."

"One against one," Captain Kirk commented under his breath, where no one, except possibly the pointy-eared Commander Spock, would hear. "At least the fighting odds are even."

"Lt. Sulu," the captain of the U.S.S. ENTERPRISE now ordered loud enough for the entire bright-white bridge to hear, "ready the ship for attack-and-evade maneuvers, beginning with Omega-Alpha A-and-E."

"Laid in and ready to execute, Captain," came Sulu's response, as his nimble fingers danced across his touch-sensitive control board.

"No response on any channel or frequency, Captain," came Uhura's report from behind and to Kirk's right, just a little further right than Spock.

"Maintain communication in regards to warning the ship away, Lieutenant. "Mr. Sulu...engage Omega-Alpha..._now!_

"Engaging, Captain."

Before the Klingon battlecruiser could open fire first, the U.S.S. ENTERPRISE swooped in, at a sharply arcing fashion, and fired phaser cannons at a not-surprisingly-protected-by force-field craft.

Also not surprisingly, the Klingon battlecruiser executed its on attack-and-evade maneuver to return fire with photon torpedoes, which were deflected by the force-field surrounding the ENTERPRISE.

Also, the arcing away part of the Omega-Alpha maneuver helped to keep any photon torpedo from impacting too directly, thus able to maintain full force-field strengths.

But it was only a matter of time before both vessels had their force-fields weakened to a point where real structural damage could be carried out.

Thus, it was in the ship commanders best interest to keep pressing such attacks with more attack-and-evade maneuvers.

Just before the arcing away ENTERPRISE could reengage and retreat, whomever was commanding the battlecruiser streaked up, and under, the ENTERPRISE, whereupon the release of more photon torpedoes actually broke through the weakest point of the starship's screens...

KA-BOOMM!

Causing substantial damage to the "neck" connecting the primary saucer hull with the secondary one wherein such important, especially in battle!, sections like engineering was located.

Where Lt.-Cmdr. Montgomery Scott saw several of his male and female personnel immediately injured, whereupon he placed a reinforced force-field over the damaged area, then jumped on a nearby wall intercom.

"Engineering to medical bay! We have casualties down here!"

Over the intercom came not the voice of a nurse or medic, but none other than Dr. Leonard McCoy, chief medical officer.

"We're on our way, Mr. Scott. Keep them warm so they don't go into shock before we get there. Medical bay out."

"Keep 'em warm he says," grumbled Chief Engineer Scott, as he would next give out that order to several of his fellow engineers, while he and the rest would make certain Impulse engines were still online, and, therefore, at Captain Kirk's beck-and-call.

Which, all those many decks straight up, sort of, on the bridge...

"Delta maneuver, Mr. Sulu!" was what Captain James Tiberius Kirk next called out.

"Aye, Captain!" came the immediate reply from Lt. Hikaru Sulu, as his talented fingers again danced across his Helm station. "Engaging!"

This time the ENTERPRISE would do a 180-degree back flip, as it were, which would not be felt by anyone on its many decks, since artificial gravity was still fully functional.

Then, before the battlecruiser could compensate for this unexpected maneuver...

PH-THEEW! PH-THEEW!

...well-aimed phaser cannons fired at almost point-blank range toward the engines of the Klingon craft...

BOOMM! BOOMM!

...and took them out so the battlecruiser could not perform its own dazzling display of attack-and-evade maneuvers. Especially now that the exterior energy weapons, dotting the Dyson Sphere surrounding its brown dwarf sun, were online and locking onto this lone invader.

This left the unknown Klingon commander of the equally unknown Klingon battlecruiser to do what was left to do, in such dire circumstances.

He re-cloaked his craft and, thus, slipped out of the spatial area as stealthily as he had come into it.

Red alert status was now reduced to yellow alert on board the U.S.S. ENTERPRISE. And even that would give way to normal status for the starship, once enough time had elapsed to make certain the re-cloaked cruiser was not readying a last-ditch effort to engage in a sneak attack upon the starship and star-shell.

"Lt Uhura," commanded Captain Kirk, even as the yellow alert status was, indeed, degraded to normal, "check in with all departments, and medical bay, to ascertain our status in regards to ship damage and crew injuries."

"Yes, Captain," came a fully relieved-it-was-over Lt. Nyota Uhura's reply, as she would next check in with all departments and decks, leaving until last checking in with medical bay, and a curmudgenly tense Dr. McCoy.

"Mr. Spock," next commanded Captain Kirk, of his second-in-command, as well as his second close friend, "maintain scans of this entire sector. Make sure there are no anomalous readings that might indicate the Klingon battlecruiser was still in the area."

Although both knew that such a scan would turn up no such anomalous readings, Commander Spock still obediently, and logically, acknowleded such with a single, "Affirmative, Captain."

At last, after all such commands had been obediently carried out by a variety of officers, bridge and otherwise...

_"Captain's log: Stardate 2259.03. Repairs were underway, and injured crew personnel were receiving treatment in medical bay. I thus decided to reinstate R-and-R._

_"Lord knows, we could really use it now. And we were already here, once again in geosynchronous orbit about this Dyson Sphere society._

_"As I am sure my chief medical officer, and close friend, Dr. Leonard McCoy would say, 'This is just what the doctor ordered'. Cliche was part of Bones' southern charm._

_"I could hardly wait to meet back up with Zoon Rhann...and pick up where we had left off."_


End file.
